The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

In an interlude told from Lola’s perspective, the narrative flashes back to Lola’s time in Santo Domingo as a teenager. After 14 months, La Inca tells Lola it is time to return to her mother and brother in Paterson. Despondent and defiant, Lola writes, “If you ask me I don’t think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That’s enough” (205).

In a series of decisions Lola now characterizes as extremely immature, she quits the track team, dumps Max, and becomes sexually involved with a classmate’s father. After a series of motel trysts, Lola demands he pay her $2,000; reluctantly, he agrees. She plans to use the money to escape to Japan or India.

When her mother arrives in Santo Domingo, her first words to Lola are that she looks ugly. As Lola prepares to run away with the money, she learns that Max died in a bicycle accident at work. Lola decides to give the money to Max’s mother and little brother and to return to Paterson with her mother. She cries the whole way back to America. Lora writes, addressing an unidentified reader, “I know this sounds ridiculous, but I don’t think I really stopped [crying] until I met you” (210).